How Jane Stole Valentine's Day
by Brown Eyes Parker
Summary: Valentine's Day Special. Even though they're a new couple, Jane thinks he and Lisbon should celebrate Valentine's Day together. How does he exactly convince her to do it? Post-Spiked Eggnog. For Nerwen Aldarion. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you to Nerwen Aldarion for beta-ing this for me. You're amazing girl, love you!**

**Disclaimer:**

**I had a birthday a couple weeks ago, and I didn't get the Mentalist for a present. Okay?**

**Rated: T**

**Author's Note: **

**This is a sequel to "Spiked Eggnog" (story 16 in my "That's How It Should Be" collection), but I think it could stand alone. But feel free to go back and read "Spiked Eggnog", if you want to.**

* * *

**Chapter 1 **

_**Three Weeks Before Valentine's Day**_

"What do you think about Valentine's Day?" Patrick Jane casually asked one particular slow day at the CBI.

Teresa Lisbon looked up from the paperwork she was filing and frowned slightly. "I think that it's a holiday created by the greeting card industry to abstract money from the gullible consumer."

"So, you don't want to do anything on Valentine's Day then?" Jane checked.  
This isn't some sort of trick that's going to come back and bite me on February fifteenth?"

"No tricks," Lisbon replied. "Besides, we've only been together for two months. Isn't it a little too soon to celebrate Valentine's Day together?"

"I don't think so. I mean, what else are we going to do on that day?"

"Go to work, solve cases, and catch the bad guys. Just like we do any other day," she answered, tossing her pen aside. "Unless. . . do _you_ want to celebrate Valentine's Day, Patrick?"

Jane tried to look a little bit shocked at her suggestion. "What!? _No!_ Really, I just wanted to make sure you weren't building up any false expectations about what was going to happen on February fourteenth. I agree with you, Valentine's Day is just a day fabricated . . . you know what, I have to go; I think Van Pelt just called me."

Lisbon frowned at her boyfriend's uncharacteristic display. "Van Pelt left an hour ago to chase down a lead on a case she's working on for another unit."

"Are you sure? Because I could have sworn that was her voice—"

"Nice try," Lisbon interjected. "But she's _not _here right now. Come on, you can be honest with me, Patrick. Do you want to celebrate Valentine's Day?"

"Honestly? Yes, I do. It's been a while since I've had anybody to really celebrate it with for a while. I know that we've given each other candy or something like that the past few years. But it isn't the same thing as actually celebrating the holiday when you're happy and in love."

Lisbon breathed in sharply. Even though they'd been together for two months, they still hadn't put whatever was between them into words. She knew that the 'L' word was going to come up eventually; but she always expected it would be romantic. She never expected in a thousand years that Jane would let it slip out so casually. It wasn't his style. . . nothing about him was casual.

She wanted to ask him if he really meant it. . . if he was really in love with her and happy. But when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. So, she cleared her throat and pretended to look at the time on her computer's dashboard.

"Oh look at that, lunchtime's already passed. Are you hungry enough to go and grab a bite to eat?" She said.

Jane smiled. "Do you want to split an ice cream sundae while we're at it?"

"I think we could manage that," Lisbon answered as she capped her pen and stood up. "But you have to promise not to talk about making plans for Valentine's Day. Okay?"

"Only if you promise to think about making plans for that evening," Jane replied, resisting the urge to take her hand in his while they were still in the office.

"Fine," she agreed, almost reluctantly. "But don't nag me about it, or the answer will automatically be _no_."

"Don't take your time. All the good places reserve quickly this time of the year, you don't want to have pizza and cheap wine on the most romantic day of the year."

"I don't know," Lisbon mused quietly as the elevator doors opened on the ground level. "That actually sounds like it could be a pretty nice date."

"So, you want to do that then? Just say the word and I'll make it happen."

"We're not talking about it right now. Remember?" she answered as she extracted her car keys from her jacket pocket.

"Of course," Jane replied.

Lisbon could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't going to take no for an answer, and that he was going to do whatever it took to ensure that she said yes.

**.**

"I thought you might want to look at these," Jane told Lisbon the next afternoon. "They're menus for some of the most romantic restaurants in Sacramento. Why don't you just look them over and then tell me which one you like the most."

She frowned at him. "Jane, I still haven't decided if I even want to go out with you on Valentine's Day."

"Look the way I see it is that either way, we're going to be together that night. So, why _not_ do it? Everybody else does."

"Why not give me a little more time to think about it?" Lisbon said. "Because if you don't then I'm just going to say no."

"If you say no I'm just going to have to make you change your mind," Jane told her.

"And if I _don't _change my mind?" Lisbon asked, raising an eyebrow in a silent challenge.

"You'll just have to wait and find out," Jane answered mysteriously.

For a moment, she considered the elaborate ruse that he'd come up with to get her to don an evening gown and make her have dinner with him at an expensive restaurant where everybody could see them. It was almost enough to make her give in and say yes to him, even though she really didn't want to give him the satisfaction of having his way without at least _trying_ to fight him on it.

She shook her head. "Just give me a little more time to think about it. Okay?"

"Fine," Jane agreed, smirking at her. "But don't be surprised when I try to come up with ways to convince you to say yes."

"Believe me, nothing you could do would ever surprise me," Lisbon grumbled as she snatched up the restaurant menus and tossed them into a drawer, signaling the end of the conversation for the time being.

**TBC. . .**


	2. Chapter 2

**Shout-Outs:AngryLittlePrincess, Lothlorien Aeterna, theBonesGirl33, Sue Shay, Little-Firestar84 and for reviewing the first chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I wish I did, but that's about all.**

**.**

**Chapter 2**

_Two weeks Before Valentine's Day_

"What's all this?" Lisbon asked as she entered Jane's apartment a week later, looking around the interior with disbelief.

He had turned his living room into a cozy dining area, complete with jazzy instrumentals, fine china, and glasses of sparkling champagne.

Jane smiled at her, his eyes twinkling in the soft glow of candles and white Christmas lights. "This, my dear, is me trying to persuade you to have dinner with me on Valentine's Day evening. Don't look so surprised, you knew this was coming."

"Of course I did," she replied, brushing a strand of hair away from her face as she took in his pristine tuxedo. "You certainly pulled out all the stops, didn't you?"

"Nope," Jane answered easily as he steered her towards his bedroom. "Now go get cleaned up a little bit and change into the dress I laid out for you."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Lisbon protested. "I'm not putting on formal wear to have dinner in your _living room—_"

"But if you're going to make an informed decision, you have to get the complete picture of what our romantic evening is going to look like. Putting on the dress is essential to whether or not you say yes or no."

"Make me put on a dress and you can _forget_ going out for dinner Valentine's Day," Lisbon said.

"Your threats are getting old," Jane replied as he waved her off. "We both know that you aren't going to follow through on them."

"Oh yeah? _Just_ watch me!"

He just smiled and shut the door in her face, leaving her alone with a dress that was obviously not from a department store in the mall. She sighed and ran her fingers down the emerald satin as she decided to take a quick shower before getting changed.

Fifteen minutes later, barefooted and dressed in the gown he had selected for her, she rejoined Jane in the living room.

He smiled when he saw her. "I thought you'd tried and escaped somehow."

"No, I was just getting cleaned up," Lisbon replied, smiling coyly. "And even if I wanted to try and escape, there isn't really any way to do it from your bedroom."

"Well, I'm glad you're still here," Jane said taking a few steps towards her and holding out his hand for her. "Now, I'm going to walk you through our Valentine's Day dinner date. Okay?"

"Okay," Lisbon agreed as she took his hand. "What first?"

"What first?" Jane repeated, pretending to be lost in thought for a moment. "First, I'll pick you up at your apartment around seven and you'll be wearing that dress. I'll be speechless—"

"Which will be a first for you," Lisbon interjected, smirking slightly.

Jane ignored her and plowed on mapping out their evening together. "After a moment, I'll recover and tell you how stunning you look. You'll reply and tell me that I don't look so bad myself. After a couple of minutes of shameless flirting, I'll tell you that we need to get going or we're going to miss our reservations. You'll insist on driving, and I'll let you because it's really your night. The whole time we're in the car, I'll watch you admiringly until you tell me to stop, because I'm starting to creep you out."

"And then?" Lisbon asked.

"We'll be at the restaurant," Jane replied as he led her to the little table he'd set up and pulled her chair out. "You'll pour over the menu, knowing that I already pre-ordered the most expensive meal they have to offer. After we're done eating dinner, you'll pretend that you don't have room for dessert while you eye the chocolate cake at a neighboring table. So, I'll order us something to share."

"And then the evening will be over?"

"No," Jane answered. "But the rest of the evening is a surprise. You have to wait until dinner's over to find out about the rest."

"Suddenly I'm dreading what's going to happen," Lisbon said.

"But how is that even possible?" Jane asked as he started to serve her. "You don't even know what it is."

"I've known you for years though," she said. "I could have ideas about what the surprise could be."

"I promise that the surprise isn't something that's over the top expensive," he told her. "It's our first Valentine's Day together. What do you think, I'm crazy?"

"That's actually _exactly_ what I think," Lisbon answered with a smirk as she took a bite of her dinner. "I could name all the expensive gifts you've gotten me over the years and that's just when we were friends. So, the idea of a romantic present from you frightens me slightly."

"What even makes you think I have something for you?"

"Well, don't you?" Lisbon asked.

"This is just a practice run, remember?" Jane reminded her. "I'm not going to tell you everything tonight. You'll just have to wait until next week."

"_If_ I say yes," Lisbon felt the need to point out.

"I was hoping that maybe the possibility of a gift would actually get you to agree to come with me," Jane said.

"No," Lisbon replied. "If anything, it makes me want to say _no_ even more. I don't want a big show and expensive presents."

"What do you want?" Jane asked seriously.

"Right now, I just want to finish eating and see what you have planned for the rest of the evening."

"Caramel cheesecake because the restaurant was all out of chocolate cake."

"And then?" Lisbon pressed.

"I told you, you'll just have to wait and see until after dinner is over!" Jane replied. "Patience, woman! Good things come to those who wait."

Lisbon rolled her eyes and dug into her meal, nodding appreciatively with the first bite. "This is pretty good."

"I hoped that you would like it," he answered.

"Are you hungry, or are you just going to watch me eat?" Lisbon asked, looking at him.

Jane picked up his fork and nodded. "Of course I'm going to eat. I just wanted to make sure you were enjoying your dinner before I did."

**.**

When they were finished eating, he pushed away from the table and went over to his stereo player. "After we're finished eating, I'm going to go and ask the bandleader to play an old love song. If he says no, I'll make him an offer that makes it impossible for him to refuse me my request. And then, I'll come back to our table and ask you to dance. You might say no at first, then suddenly you'll change your mind and say yes. Everybody will be watching us, and you'll probably be the envy of every single girl in the whole entire place."

"Really?" Lisbon asked, watching him as he put on a new CD and turned the music all the way up.

"Really," Jane replied as he came over to her and pulled her chair out. "But it won't matter, because you're the only woman that I'll be able to see."

She laughed and took his hand, allowing him to bring her to the center of the living room. "Well, I hope so. Because if we do go out that night, I'll be trying my hardest to make sure I'm the only one that you see."

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close as he swayed to the music. "Baby, you won't even have to try."

Lisbon cleared her throat. "So, I say yes and I'm the envy of every girl in the room. What happens next?"

"I hold you close and whisper sweet nothings into your ear," Jane answered. "Or maybe the lyrics to the song that's playing, I haven't exactly decided yet. I think I'll just let it come to me in the moment. After that, we dance until the manager kicks us out."

"Yeah?" Lisbon asked.

"And then, I'll drive you home. . ." Jane trailed off and pulled away, studying her eyes. "Because I'm a gentleman, I'll walk you to your door. I'll drag out saying goodnight to you for as long as possible, and then you'll invite me in for tea."

"I'm all out of tea," she told him breathlessly.

"It won't matter either way," he replied as he lowered his voice a notch. "You're not really inviting me in for tea."

Lisbon frowned. "Then what am I exactly inviting you in for?"

Jane brought her back into his embrace and whispered something in her ear. She pulled away, her mouth dropping open slightly at his suggestion.

"Don't look so surprised!" He chided. "If you're still worried about those eight little letters, three little words, you don't have to. I _will_ be saying them that evening. It'll probably happen when I drag out saying goodnight to you."

"Maybe you better practice now," Lisbon suggested suddenly.

"You really think I can practice saying something like that?" Jane asked. "I want you to think I said it, spur of the moment."

"But it won't be spur of the moment," Lisbon pointed out. "You _just_ told me that you've been planning on saying it the whole time."

Jane sighed. "Lisbon. . . Teresa—"

"Yes?" She asked, looking up at him expectantly.

"I-I'm sorry, I just can't do it right now."

Lisbon wilted. "Oh."

"It's not because I don't thought!" Jane rushed to assure her. "I just don't want to say it under pressure."

"No pressure," Lisbon answered, untangling herself from his arms and going over to the table to start clearing it off.

"Don't do that," Jane said, following her. "You'll ruin your dress."

"Who cares? It's just two pieces of fabric sewn together, it doesn't really matter if it gets ruined or not."

"What'll happen if you decide to go out with me next week?" Jane asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"I have other dresses I can wear," Lisbon answered.

But Jane could tell from the look on her face that there wasn't going to be a nice dinner out. He sighed and gathered her back up into his arms inspite of her protests. "Teresa—"

"Don't say it just because you think it's what I want to hear or you think you're going to get something out of it," Lisbon warned. "It won't help things, it might just make me angry."

"I'm not going to say it because you want to hear it or because I think I'll get anything out of it," Jane told her as he framed her face with his hands. "I'm saying it because it's long overdue, I should have told you the morning after the CBI Christmas party. I should have told you that night. I love you, I've always loved you."

"Really?" Lisbon asked, cursing her uncertainty.

"Really," Jane assured her. "I love you."

Lisbon's mouth quirked into an adorable smile that really made Jane want to kiss her. But he held off a moment, hoping that she'd say it back quickly.

After what seemed like an eternity, she stood on tip-toe and pecked his cheeks, his nose, and his lips. "I love you too. But that doesn't mean we're going out to dinner next week."

Jane laughed and kissed her deeply. "I didn't think so."

**TBC. . .**

**.**

**Author's Note:**

**The "I love you" was probably a little premature, but I was feeling it. So, I wrote it. Hope it didn't turn you off too much. This chapter was a killer to write and that's why it was delayed. Can't wait to hear your feedback.**

**Love you guys!**

**Holly, 2/12/2013_ **

**P.S**

**Shameless plug here, I'm in the process of posting an AU called "Nick & Nora" (not to be confused with "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"). And my UNSHAMEFUL plug is "An Ocean Between Us" by , CHECK OUT BOTH! Please. **


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